


The Shores of Manna

by Sugar_Crush



Category: Sky: Children of the Light (Video Game)
Genre: Called golden for a reason :), Elder focused fic, F/M, Lore focused, Major Character Death for spirits- not elders, Multi, Sky Horror, This will be two parts, Wasteland used to be farmers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:22:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27142396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sugar_Crush/pseuds/Sugar_Crush
Summary: Before the Children existed, people roamed the lands. Abandoned by Resh, they formed the known kingdoms of today; Isle, Prairie, Forest, Valley, Wasteland, and Vault. It was almost perfection. So close to a model world. The people of Sky began doubting the Stars, and Resh sent down a curse. One that would destroy the lands of wheat and gold. This fic is set long before modern Sky is built. Forest is currently an ocean, and Valley and Vault rule the lands. A new danger has been born unto the world.
Relationships: Forest Elder (Teth)/Wasteland Elder (Tsadi)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	1. Introduction of an Old World

**Author's Note:**

> So, i really wanted to do a Skykid fic but then realized there was WAY too much lore i wanted to include. This will probably 4-5 chapters going in on the lore that i HC, and then getting onto the original story i wanted.

When a child falls from grace, they fall into their respective areas. They are returned to their former glory, led by the spirits and elders alike. 

The children are taught emotions, companionship, and how to fall in love. The arts are extremely important in the kingdom of Sky, and each realm has its own traditions.

Isle is full of guides and leaders that help those weak and new. It is a land for those with kind hearts and soft hands. The children here are called Carriers, much like birds. They travel you through each realm, and then surely disappear. 

Prairie is those who are playful, immortally children. They have the gift of building and never being on task. New friends that last for years are spawned here. Children born of Prairie are notably the loudest, and as such are called Howlers.

Forest is for those with dripping hearts and hard determination. A calm anger coats them, yet they'll always offer gifts. It seems that they're people of affection rather than words. The children born to this rainy area are called Dews. Similar to real moths, they’re quite fond of gifts of light.

Valley is a land full of stars dedicated to the people. A land to distract you from your troubles, yet more competitive than Prairie. This is the land for bets, challenges, and heartful playing. The children here are called Amulets. 

Wasteland is a land of woes, for those scarred and broken alike. It is not for those faint of heart, but for those brave enough to trek the lands. Since the children here never leave the lands they have been named Kingpins, or just Pins. 

Vault is for those of knowledge. Quick quips and tactical genius, they spend their nights alone yet connected. Each child born here is raised for the benefit of the community, working behind closed doors. As such they are called Seers. 

\---

Those born in wasteland are said to have done great evil in their past life times. To be cursed by Resh himself. The stars there may only learn pain and sorrow alike, and the spirits there don't know how to teach their followers happiness. Surely Tsadi would save them from their fate, he fought years of war to save them from fate. Yet, in the darkest of nights their children were snatched away from them. The anger they had seen had absorbed them, Tsadi must fulfill his promise.

Tsadi must kill every krill to exist, and with that the life of a child. 

A krill is born when a child is consumed by the black depths of Wasteland. Their Core is covered, and it's light is cracked. Only by stealing other children's lights may it return to its former self. Some call it a form of desperation when a krill approaches you, others are blind sighted by their own anger. Children had worked so hard for their lights just for it to be ripped away from their Core. It was a natural reaction. No one knew that the rill were children, maybe they did but didn't wish to admit it. Tsadi had once hoped children would save their light for the krill, to save them from their own curse. Yet if he steered away from his promise the curse only became worse.

\---

The pipes in his kingdom had burst, drenching the bright yellow fields in pollution. Hundreds of people had died that day, some drowning, some being crushed. The fumes of the explosions turned the clouds dark and angry. Nothing could be done. The pipes hauled in the darkness from each realm, it couldn't be cut off easily. Tsadi watched as his kingdom was crippled, the vast wheat burned under pressure. The few who lived away from the pipes fled to the capital, taking shelter in the Kings chambers. That was when the first Krill was born. A large shriek had raged across the land, and a dazzling light show lit up the sky. It's ink black body had emerged from the watery depths, its blue eye scanning for those lost. A childish way to look for its family. Tsadi has done his best to try and call the creature. Yet in the krills mind, Tsadi was what caused this flood. So it was imprinted in the krills mind that people were to be attacked. Upon seeing the larger msn, rage consumed the krill and he attacked. Tsadi wore his broken chest with shame. More shrieks came from the krill as it looked for it's family, attacking anyone in sight. The blacksmith and the twins eventually came to the rescue, slaying the beast. It's body had fizzled into the non-existence, black particles joining the churning sky.

It was a night the four elders would remember, and one Tsadi couldn't forget. Three large scratches tore into his chest, leaving bright and angry scaring. Teth would stay in the realm for much longer than needed, sending grand gifts per each visit. The twins stayed dreadfully far away. Darkness had spread into their land, and their image had been harmed. They needed not care for Wasteland, they had a reputation on the line. 


	2. Extra info

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small bit of info that might be helpful? I can't add it anywhere else in the story.

  
Map of Wasteland! The outer tower is tower 3 

  
Power diamonds

  
This but a with a deeper ocean (art by Tom Zhao)

  
This will be the most important part! Core's are an unofficial part of this story, but very important. (Art by tom Zhao)


	6. The Ruins of a Shiny Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A focus on history before, and the spirits we find in this land of the clouds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You need to have looked at the images before this to understand this chapter better !!! >:( go do it

The land of waste is not a happy tale, it is one of sorrow and misery. To get to the good, you must witness the bad. Tsadi´s curse had affected himself and the many people of its land. Within the first entrance of Wasteland, the temple area was one of great glory.

It was a reception area of sorts, a place for Wasteland to boast it's large fields of food, the Factory, and it's experienced priests and Kingpins. Wasteland wasn’t dangerous at the time, but it was still hard to navigate. The areas not ladened with wheat were instead covered by brick and gold towers. They were a neutral town, one that kept all sorts of people hidden - any kind of person could find themselves at home behind its walls. Wasteland had only expanded. The temples, Ark, town hall, the hunt/graveyard, the main kingdom, and the king's chambers. But there was one place most important to the curse: the factory. 

The factory was a great invention created by the Vaults Elder, Lamed. This was the time when the Clouds were still being settled, where pools of Darkness lived naturally on the land and surrounded many shorelines that had yet to be inhabited. Lamed was an Elder of knowledge, and from these pools, she created the power plant. The darkness would be liquefied, sent through great pipes, and arrive at the factory. Here it would be turned into a great flame. True to its oily nature, darkness burned easily. The factory stood three tiers high, almost the size of the Kingdom itself. It would take most of the darkness from Valley and the new coming Forest. Isle held no darkness, and Vault dealt with what little amounts spawned there. Prairie had no troubles, very rarely relying on the station. 

In turn, this light was used to power the Diamonds. Small gifts sent to Resh in hopes he would come from the Stars and save them. Lamed was praised for being able to make them, treated as the highest ranking Elder. Vault mirrored that of the Tower of Babble, the highest place in the land of the clouds. And just as the biblical tower fell, so will the kingdoms in this story. 

The many power diamonds sent to Resh had gone ignored, even at the highest summit of Vault, no one could reach his majesty. When God doesn’t reply, people leave. So did the people of Sky. But Resh’s power relied on the Skylets' worship. If he were to punish Lamed, the Skylets surely would stop following him. Tsadi of the Wastes would have to take the blame. He had supplied the workforce, the area, boasted and become far too egotistical for his land. So a small plan was formed. The reply of the King Resh. 

They targeted Forest. A land still unclaimed but rich with materials for the power diamonds. Forest wasn’t what Children see today, no it was a land laden with oceans. Large waves crashed and beat at the trees that managed to grow there. Landslides havoced the land and allowed for little growth. The Darkness embedded itself there, infecting the waters, poisoning skylets who entered. Some say it still plagues the water to this day- killing any child who dares to play in its water too long. Teth was the only Elder brave enough to wash through its vast shores, and the only Elder not affected by its grim fate. 

Teth wasn’t the youngest of the Elders, the valley held that spot strong, but she was the last to claim a territory. For as long as the land of Clouds existed, she had held herself within her realm. Jealousy coiled deep in her core. Was millennium the right way to phrase it? Time didn’t exist for the Elders. They simply were. Thousands of years older than the Valley twins, Samekh, and yet she was the last to own her realm. A worn-down realm, it would take her millennium more to fix it. Lamed was kind, but almost every Elder knew it was merely an act. Vault needed the materials in Forest. It was obvious, and a good plan. Something crafted by a genius. Teth was just another stepping stone to win the favor of King Resh. She looked past Lamed's mistreatments in the pursuit of a common goal. 

\---

The Skylets could do no such thing. Yes, they all secretly wished that Resh would come and save them, but they had become comfortable on the vast lands. With so many elders, no one king ruled them. They could travel as much as they wanted, the far apart stars never stopped them. The land here was vast and different, Star was bright but so very confusing. There they were simply cores, they had no shell to roam. Never had they been able to feel the soft winds or blades of grass. 

When their gifts to Resh stopped, so did their favor. They were not spared when Tsadi’s curse arrived. 

\---

She wasn’t the first to go, but she was the last to give up. Her core stays surrounded by the hollow shell of Wasteland.

It had been a quiet day, she was a helper and not a priest; off to do her duties and help the incoming children. When the large crack had rung the sky all she knew were her eyes ached and legs crumpled. Without thought or reason, she ran to the third temple. Fear was the only thing left to feel. Something bad had happened. In the midst of glory, no one would believe something bad could happen. Yet, the screams around her cried for mercy. It sounded like the watering pumps, a good sign for the crops that day, yet today felt different. It was only for a mere moment, but when she turned her heart sank. A large beam of oil shot straight up from the factory, the pipes around her screeched as their metal was torn. A pinpoint, a focus, it enraptured her. Families raced past her and she just stared as the large wave embraced her. 

Death would hold no mercy for her, not yet. Crumbling under the weight, the bridge beneath her laid to waste. Agony spread between her bones, but she had to continue. Even as the final temple sank she foolishly leaped into its safe arms. A single corner was all it could offer her. Curled into a ball, she sat and waited. Other people were buried in the rubble beside her, she could hear their screams. Even as a helper she could do nothing. Not even as the oil began to lick at her legs. A horrible way to die, surrounded by strangers and family whose voice she could no longer recognize. Calling for Tsadi and knowing he wouldn’t be there on time. A child sobbed next to her as the water rose.

  
“We will join Resh soon. Just like in Eden, we will come back.” Even with her loud voice, and a knowledge that she had been heard, the crying never stopped.

A meek hand presented itself through the cracks, oddly disfigured. She didn’t feel strong anymore. Not when there was no way she could even offer this child a comforting hug. All she could do was hold their hand as the oil enveloped them, as the grinding of bones in their grasp sent shards of pain up their arms. Tears pricked the corner of her eyes, it seemed everyone cried in the face of death. Tempt as she might, her throat closed up and didn't allow for speech. Even as the bricks between her and the child disappeared, she couldn’t find the words to comfort them. Even as their frail body sank to the bottom of the oil, too dark and deep to even see the body be swallowed. Even as she closed her eyes and let the exhaustion take over. 

Maybe, just maybe as a spirit she could save the next child. Teach them to protect their heads. That fear was okay - needed even, if they wished to survive. Even if it meant reliving that memory until she was numb, if it saved another child she didn’t mind. 

\-----------

The workers in the factory didn’t have time to prepare. He had no luxury. A simple boat was all he was gifted, along with two other men from the factory. They rode the large waves to shore. Oil splashed into the boat, burning his body and what little clothes they had left. Rashes curled into his skin- but Tsadi would applaud him for holding such scars because Tasdi said It shows that you’re alive. It shows the pain that you survived. So, if it just took a few more moments of pain for Tsadi to personally congratulate him, he’d sink to the bottom of this lake and swim to shore. He was saved from such agony. His crewmates were not. No room to scream as the inky depths sucked them in. Only the filling of your lungs and the desperation before your death. 

The boat lasted him merely minutes longer, enough for him to get to the grand arches before the temple. Legs burning, he foolishly dragged his withered body against the soil turned sand. The sand only swathed his feet as he walked, burying itself into his wounds. He watched as the waves ate the temples, barely heard the shrieks of the priests there. Everything seemed tiresome. Rather than aim for the temples, he tried his best to get into the town hall and onto the king's doorstep. He wanted to go home. To his wife and the two cotton-headed twins. It was the only reason why he still walked. A false sense of hope wrapped in his gut. Even as his eyes fluttered close, as the oil battered at his skin, and even as he fell into the floor. It wasn’t even the forgiving soil, merely stone. Would someone find his body here? Surely no one would come this close to the disaster. If only Tsadi could’ve saved him. If only he could’ve saved his friends. 

Tirelessly, he stayed behind. Taught the children how to ‘play dead’, watched as they joked about his fainting. He had been too far away and no one could find him. He wanted to move on, he was waiting in hopes that Tsadi would come and meet him - but he couldn’t

\---

A spirit is born as a memory. It’s similar to that of a core, but it lacks life. Some say it’s merely an imprint, a lesson from the past. A spirit is formed when a Skylet goes under a great amount of emotion, rather positive or negative. It shows a defining memory. No Skylet was left behind to tell about the spirits, nor will the Elders indulge the children's questions. 


End file.
